


Initialization Sequence

by TheSwingbyJeanHonoreFragonard



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, Character Study, Drama, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Robot/Human Relationships, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26238997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSwingbyJeanHonoreFragonard/pseuds/TheSwingbyJeanHonoreFragonard
Summary: Kim Seungmin is the number one student in the Robotics Department at well-known JYP University. He is months from completing his third year in the program and his advanced class is given one last big assignment for the semester: code his own AI system.That would be too easy, though. He can do that in his sleep. It won't be fun.So Seungmin hand picks the best team for the task and decides to build something else.He decides to build something... more.
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin
Comments: 31
Kudos: 187
Collections: EQUINOX





	Initialization Sequence

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Equinox SeungJin fic fest!!
> 
> I chose the prompt #107 which reads as follows: "Seungmin is an IT/technics student and his project is to create a human-like AI -- Hyunjin. He can think and feel like a normal person, and sometimes, Seungmin forgets entirely that Hyunjin is nothing more than a project. He shouldn't have feelings for him, right...?"
> 
> I may have taken some... slight... creative liberties here, but I hope it is to your liking, dear prompter!

**POWER SOURCE** : Available

 **BATTERY** : Fully Charged (100%)

**POWER BUTTON DEPRESSION DETECTED.**

Powering on…

Powering on…

Powering on… 

**INITIALIZING BOOT SEQUENCE.**

>>> Launch: startup_version008.exe

Unpacking… 1%

Unpacking… 7%

**KEY COMPONENTS FOUND.**

System Name: HYUNJIN_0320

Version: 1.670.38

Operating System: SKZ2020

INSTALLING OPERATING SYSTEM SKZ2020

[ **―――** ] 33%

WORD PROCESSING SOFTWARE FOUND.

INSTALLING WORD PROCESSING SOFTWARE.

WORD PROCESSING SOFTWARE INSTALLED.

SECTION LABELED [000000] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {??? - testing notes field.}
> 
> {??? - testing. testing.}
> 
> {??? - good. good. using these dedicated text fields doesn’t interfere with the actual programming code.}
> 
> {??? - the team should be able to use these note sections to clarify the purpose of different lines of code, to list edits/changes made or to leave directions while we work on this four-week project.}
> 
> {??? - this is going well.}
> 
> {??? - we’ve just started, but… this is going well.}
> 
> {??? - you’re going to be amazing.}
> 
> {??? - this will be my best work yet.}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELLED [000000] DISMISSED.

  
  
  


INSTALLING OPERATING SYSTEM SKZ2020

[ **―――――――――** ] 91%

  
  


AUDIO PROCESSING SOFTWARE FOUND.

INSTALLING AUDIO PROCESSING SOFTWARE.

AUDIO PROCESSING SOFTWARE INSTALLED.

VOICE NOTE [000000.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [000000.mp3]

> “Jeez… I’m so tired. I’ve worked so hard. No… _We’ve_ worked so hard. Ugh. It’s been a long, tiring, challenging four weeks and I’m so glad I had Ryujin and Jeongin to help me. Their support was absolutely unmatched. I really wouldn’t have been able to complete this project without them. Anyone else would have laughed at me… Anyone else would have judged me. They would have thought I was out of my mind, but I knew Ryujin and Jeongin would believe in me which is why I picked them. It’s why I had to have them on my side. Jeongin… Ryujin… Without them, I couldn’t make my dream come true. And, really, honestly, truly, this _is_ a dream. The last half of this semester has flown by. Nothing feels real. The interviews, the media coverage, the grant money, the job offers… The impostor syndrome… But… All the stress and all of the late nights are worth it because.... I will finally get to meet you. Hey. Isn’t that exciting? Aren’t you excited? All of this has been so _worth it_ because you are now complete. We’ve been together for a month already but… I will finally get to meet you. For real. 
> 
> All that’s left is to press the power button.
> 
> You’re going to be amazing.”

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

VOICE NOTE [000000.mp3] DISMISSED.

  
  


INSTALLING OPERATING SYSTEM SKZ2020

[ **――――――――――** ] 100%

  
  


OPERATING SYSTEM SKZ2020 INSTALLED.

LAUNCHING SKZ2020.

LAUNCHING…

LAUNCHING…

OPERATING SYSTEM SKZ2020 LAUNCHED.

WELCOME TO “SKZ2020! [LATEST VERSION]”

  
  


**REINITIALIZING BOOT SEQUENCE.**

>>>>Resume: startup_version008.exe 

Unpacking… 11%

Unpacking… 15%

**USER DATA FOUND.**

Primary User: Kim Seungmin (Administrator)

Username: seungmin_k@jyp.edu

Password: ********************** [show password: //false]

Secondary User: Shin Ryujin (User)

Username: joanne_classof2020@jyp.edu

Password: ********** [show password: //false]

Secondary User: Yang Jeongin (User)

Username: yang.roboticsdept@jyp.edu

Password: SEUNGMINISANERD! [show password: //true]

SECTION LABELED [NOTES 001] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS. 

> {ksm - i had a feeling that i would find bs like this if i switched the code}
> 
> {yji - hey hold up}
> 
> {ksm - you could have at least been creative, jeongin}
> 
> {ksm - like… i hear more scathing insults from my kid brother}
> 
> {ksm - he’s 10}
> 
> {yji - i can c theze little notes 2 u no}
> 
> {yji - ummm. wait. hello??? y is my password just chilling out there like that?}
> 
> {ksm - now you catch on…}
> 
> {yji - why is my password still visible? y cant i change that line of code? it says im nut authorized to alter that code... this is a violation of human rights.}
> 
> {ksm - my code. my rules.}
> 
> {yji - but who is helpin u cume up wit all thiss code????????}
> 
> {yji - dont let me catch u in the streets}
> 
> {srj - What is all of this jargon in the notes section? None of this appears to be relevant to the project. It’s just adding unnecessary clutter. Can you delete it?}
> 
> {yji - we’re discussing code}
> 
> {ksm - hey, jeongin started it by having a stupid password.}
> 
> {srj - I don’t understand why you two aren’t texting each other.}
> 
> {srj - Editing our code for this kind of mess is inefficient compared to a text.}
> 
> {srj - Actually… Aren’t you both in the lab right now? You could just... speak.}
> 
> {yji - weve beenn goin at it thiss long alredy so may ass well keep postin here}
> 
> {srj - Why can’t you stop typing? This is not a chat log. And… your typos will cause the downfall of our nation.}
> 
> {srj - All of this is pushing the code down the grid and the both of you know I hate starting new lines of code on oddly numbered rows.}
> 
> {yji - yet here u r, adding to the jargon}
> 
> {srj - Only programmers would argue in a place no one else can read.}
> 
> {yji - yet. here. you. are}
> 
> [ksm - it is all for a reason}
> 
> {yji - ??????}
> 
> {ksm - it’s a secret message in a bottle}
> 
> {srj - A message for who?}
> 
> {ksm - for him}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELED [NOTES 001] DISMISSED.

  
  


**INTERNET CONNECTION AVAILABLE.**

SKZ2020 WANTS TO CONNECT TO THE INTERNET.

>>>[ALLOW] [DENY]

Connecting To Internet Via Ethernet.

ERROR 034: NO ETHERNET CONNECTION DETECTED.

ERROR 034 RESOLVED.

Connecting To Internet Via WiFi.

ERROR 083: PASSWORD REQUIRED.

ERROR 083 RESOLVED.

Signing In As Primary User.

Logging In…

Logging In…

Password Correct.

Connecting To Internet Via WiFi.

Connecting…

Connecting… 

Checking your browser before accessing content.

This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly.

Please allow up to five seconds.

  
  


DDoS protection by Cloudfare

Connecting…

Connecting…

  
  


System Now Connected To Internet Via WiFi.

Running SPEED TEST.

Running…

Running… 

Running… 

SPEED TEST RESULTS:

Download: 389.2 mbps

Upload: 159.3 mbps

SPEED TEST results are OPTIMAL.

Proceeding…

Proceeding…

  
  
  


**CHECKING FOR SOFTWARE UPDATES.**

Checking…

Checking…

Checking…

  
  


NO SOFTWARE UPDATES AVAILABLE.

SOFTWARE UP TO DATE.

VOICE NOTE [0090C0.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [0090C0.mp3]

> “I never thought I’d care about anything this much. 
> 
> Well, don’t get me wrong. There’s plenty that I care about. But, like, in terms of school, there’s not much that I like to put my all into.
> 
> This started off as just another project. Just another assignment I can finish in my sleep. This whole thing started off as just another task I’d put to the side and forget about the moment I got my grade back for it. This wasn’t supposed to be any different from all of the other things I’ve programmed and designed but…
> 
> There’s something about this- There’s something about _you_ that makes this all matter. There’s something about you that makes me worry and fret and panic but there’s also something about you that fills me with inspiration.
> 
> I don’t even know if I can explain it and I don’t know if explaining it is even up to me, but… There’s something about you that makes me _care_.”

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

VOICE NOTE [0090C0.mp3] DISMISSED.

  
  


**REINITIALIZING BOOT SEQUENCE.**

>>> Resume: startup_version008.exe

Unpacking… 16%

Unpacking… 19%

Unpacking… 22%

**KEY COMPONENTS FOUND.**

Languages Installed On Drive (C:):

Dutch

 **>** **English (Secondary)**

Filipino

French

German

Italian

Japanese

 **> >** **Korean** **(Primary)**

Spanish

______

______

______

NO FURTHER PRIMARY TAGS FOUND.

NO FURTHER SECONDARY TAGS FOUND.

DOWNLOADING LANGUAGE FILES:

hangul.zip

korean_version01.zip

korean_version02.zip

roman_alphabet.zip

arabic_numerals.zip

english_version01.zip

listening_comprehension.smart

reading_comprehension.smart

  
  
  


[ **――――――――――** ] 100%

SCANNING FOR VIRUSES…

SCANNING FOR VIRUSES…

  
  


NO VIRUSES FOUND. PROCEEDING WITH LANGUAGE FILES INSTALLATION.

  
  
  


[ **――――――――――** ] 100%

  
  


LANGUAGE FILES SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED.

UNZIPPING LANGUAGE FILES.

  
  


[ **――――――――――** ] 100%

  
  


LANGUAGE FILES SUCCESSFULLY UNZIPPED.

INITIALIZING SMART FILE START UP.

  
  


Unpacking listening_comprehension.smart

reading_comprehension.smart

  
  


[ **―――** ] 31%

  
  


ERROR 281: MISSING KEY COMPONENTS.

>> pausing smart file unpack

SEARCHING FOR KEY COMPONENTS.

VIDEO FILE [11S000.mp4] FOUND.

NO VIDEO PROCESSING SOFTWARE FOUND.

CONVERTING .mp4 TO .mp3.

CONVERSION COMPLETE.

PLAYING [11S000.mp3]

> “Hey… It’s me. We’re about halfway through the initial stages. Been working on this… Let me check the calendar… Oh. It’s Thursday? Wow. Okay, so we’ve been working on this project nearly two weeks. We’re kind of at the halfway point. Sorry. I look a mess. I sound a mess. I’ve been losing track of time. Losing track of days. Don’t think I’ve been outside the lab in a while. I really do need to take a break. I was actually going to… but then I kept thinking, ‘hey, if I just do this one small thing…’ but then I just keep doing that and doing that and the next thing I know, it’s dark outside.
> 
> I know it sounds like I’m complaining but I enjoy my work. It’s getting difficult. The scope of the project keeps increasing. Everything that I think is a small idea ends up requiring Ryujin to make substantial changes to the code or for Jeongin to program a new file from scratch. But… it’s fun. I like this kind of pressure and I like coming up against these kinds of obstacles. Makes me feel like I’m doing something when I overcome them.
> 
> The work we’re doing… I can’t stop imagining how great you’ll be when we’re done. I want to take you everywhere. I want to show you everything. I want to see how you react to things. Like, there’s probably all sorts of things I’ve gotten used to but you’ll be seeing them for the first time. Maybe you’ll hate them. But maybe you’ll love them and you loving them will make me love them again. Like… Like tulips or something. They grow everywhere around campus so I’m used to seeing them but maybe you’ll be utterly fascinated by them.
> 
> I mean, we’re working on programming that should allow you to react to things so it’s very possible that you will be able to do things like admire flowers or have a favorite color. You know, simple things that we take for granted but, with you, it’ll be game-changing. It’ll be a technological marvel. People will write articles about it because a robot having preferences is quite the feat! 
> 
> To us, liking something is basic. To you, it will be a miracle.”

  
  
  


SECTION LABELLED [0G0030] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {??? - how many hours have i clocked in with the lab now… it has to be hundreds after this many weeks.... i’m no scientist. not yet. and this is just school. i’m not getting paid for any of this work… but i don’t regret a second of the time i’ve spent with you.}
> 
> {??? - i usually don’t bother putting in effort while at school… because me being lazy still gets me 100s and straight As, so why care, right? why care?}
> 
> {??? - all my life, i’ve been called a genius but… i’m just chilling. yeah i study and learn and pay attention in class and do my work but… i don’t feel like i’m doing anything special. i don’t feel like i’m doing anything worth the scholarship i have or the research grants that i’m scoring or the media attention i’ve been getting…}
> 
> {??? - but when the professor gave us this assignment… when she told us to program our own AI system, i just felt like i had to put in effort. i had to live up to the name ive somehow made for myself...}
> 
> {??? - and it feels kind of weird to actually… you know... try…}
> 
> {??? - but you’re worth it}
> 
> {??? - now that i’ve spent this much time with you, i know you’re worth it}
> 
> {??? - i’ve decided to name you hyunjin.}
> 
> {??? - sounds so much better than ‘the system.’}
> 
> {??? - the name just fits you? such a pretty name for someone pretty marvelous.}
> 
> {??? - ……}
> 
> {??? - is it weird that i go home and miss you?}
> 
> {??? - you can’t even say anything yet i miss talking to you.}
> 
> {??? - is it weird that i come to school in the mornings, see you sitting in the lab and get all excited like i’m running into my best friend? like i’m meeting a lover?}
> 
> {??? - you’re just code and software and a silicone frame… so why can’t i stop thinking about you? is it because i’ve been putting in hundreds and hundreds of lab hours working on you and getting you right and wanting you to be perfect?}
> 
> {??? - is that really all it takes to get so attached?}
> 
> {??? - this feeling… it can’t be anything more serious than an artist’s love for their own art, right? …it can’t be more serious than that.}
> 
> {??? - right?}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELLED [0G0030] DISMISSED.

  
  


SECTION LABELLED [NOTES 002] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {srj - Kim Seungmin, let it be known that I have been an honors student since elementary school and yet I am genuinely impressed by your file organization skills. These branching paths… This circular information recognition pattern… Even this data parsing algorithm! According to the assignment guidelines, we didn’t need to program anything a third as complex as this yet... The system should always be able to find what it needs without further input from the three of us. If it works, it will be truly autonomous.}
> 
> {yji - thats our boi. always showing off.}
> 
> {ksm - i can read these things. you know.}
> 
> {ksm - they pop up in the code live like we’re in a group chat.}
> 
> {srj - We are complimenting you. No need to get defensive.}
> 
> {ksm - im just chilling. I can do this kind of thing in my sleep. which is fitting because i swear the idea for him came to me in a dream.}
> 
> {yji - brrroooo if i just had a smidgen of your smarts……}
> 
> {srj - So are you Dr. Frankenstein building yourself the perfect man?}
> 
> {yji - ryujin i thot u said u hated adding these notes to the code?}
> 
> {srj - I must contribute to this madness. Otherwise the code gets pushed down and then starts on odd numbered lines. I have explained this.}
> 
> {yji - what happens if i purposefully add things to throw off your row counts?}
> 
> {srj - Then I just add more lines until it is all even again.}
> 
> {yji - fart}
> 
> {yji - butt}
> 
> {yji - vagina}
> 
> {srj - How are you in the advanced placement program?}
> 
> {yji - boobies}
> 
> {yji - penis}
> 
> {srj - I need to be graded individually.}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELLED [NOTES 002] DISMISSED.

SECTION LABELLED [Y_JEONG_01] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {yji - i tucked this section beneath a few layers of code so no one else will really see it.}
> 
> {yji - but if we get famous and this code gets shared with big name corporations and the government and stuff, i just need future ceos to know that i personally coded lines 740 to line 3100 which covers all boot process failsafes}
> 
> {yji - if any corporate heads spot this and are currently hiring, please contact me at 010-xxxx-xxxx}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELLED [Y_JEONG_01] DISMISSED.

  
  


MISSING KEY COMPONENTS.

SEARCHING FOR KEY COMPONENTS.

  
  


**REINITIALIZING BOOT SEQUENCE.**

>>> Resume: startup_version008.exe

Unpacking… 25%

Unpacking… 28%

Unpacking… 33%

**KEY COMPONENTS FOUND.**

VocalSystem_Microphone.zip

VocalSystem_Speaker.zip

AUDIO_CONTROL_JEONGINMADETHIS_BEWARE.exe

**LAUNCHING KEY COMPONENT STARTUP.**

UNZIPPING VocalSystem_Microphone.zip

VOICE RECOGNITION SOFTWARE FOUND.

SCANNING FOR VIRUSES… 

SCANNING FOR VIRUSES… 

NO VIRUSES FOUND.

INSTALLING VOICE RECOGNITION SOFTWARE.

Installing…

Installing… 

VOICE RECOGNITION SOFTWARE INSTALLED.

SEARCHING SYSTEM FOR VOICE NOTES.

VOICE NOTE [A00005.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [A00005.mp3]

> “Hey… It’s me again. Whenever we reach a huge milestone, I always get super nervous rather than super relieved. It’s odd. And to fight my nerves, I just come in here, press record and talk to you some more. I’ve saved so many of these note things in your database. I’m not even sure if you’ll find them all. A lot of it is just me rambling anyway so I’m not even sure you’d enjoy it… But if I could hear you talk, if I could hear you ramble, I’d listen to everything you said. Talk to me about anything and I will listen. Anyways… Today’s big milestone is that Jeongin’s perfected how to tray and table smart files and Ryujin can go into the bare bones of the code and flag entire sections and files as a ‘key component’ which should allow you to easily find crucial information while you are in operation. 
> 
> Meanwhile, I’ve been doing the last few bits of beta testing on how you search for and store new information. I’d say it’s easy, but… I don’t think I’ve slept a wink in about three days. My eyes sting because of how hard I’ve been staring at the computer. My wrist burns from all of the typing and mouse clicking. My back hurts from sitting in this stupid chair. Oh man... When I started this project with the others, I never would have guessed that… I’m getting a little teary-eyed. I never would have guessed that we’d get this far. Like, I honestly thought we’d run across a problem that would be impossible to solve. I honestly thought we’d have to quit and work on something simpler before the assignment deadline… but everything that’s come at us, we’ve managed to push past it.
> 
> I’m so glad that you’re here and I hope beyond everything that when I press the power button on Presentation Day that you will boot up and there won’t be any problems. 
> 
> Can you do that for me? Can you be everything I need you to be? Because I… I need you. After all of this work… and the stress… You’re- We- I just need you to be everything to me.”

NO USER PROFILE METADATA ATTACHED.

VOICE NOTE [A00005.mp3] DISMISSED.

VOICE NOTE [RYUJIN_001.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [RYUJIN_001.mp3]

> “Testing. Testing. One, two, three. Testing. Alright. We’re good to go. This is Shin Ryujin speaking. I am an honors student in the Advanced Robotics Department at JYP University. 
> 
> Okay. Everything is recording smoothly. Sound levels should be pretty evened out. I’m checking the audio and there seems to be no weird clipping, minimal background noise and no abnormal volume spikes. Ideal voice recording parameters. That’s good. Ahhh, anyways… Seungmin said I shouldn’t make myself speak slowly or try to hide my accent or anything like that. He said I should just talk naturally. Normally. That way the system can recognize my voice and the things that I say more accurately. 
> 
> I don’t want to be in here recording for long periods of time like Seungmin does but, really, the more voice samples the system has, the higher its accuracy. The higher the system’s accuracy, the easier it will be to communicate with. But still… It feels weird to just be in a room talking to myself. 
> 
> I don’t really know what else to say. This is just a school project so I’m not sure why Seungmin is going so far. He claims he’s not putting in any effort. If you’re around him for even ten minutes, you’ll know that he’s always trying to play off how smart he is and how hard he’s working. It’s kind of like humility but a bit more annoying. Not quite arrogance but… close. 
> 
> He keeps going on and on about this project being ‘simple’ but I’ve been keeping track of his lab hours and he practically _lives_ here. He spends far more time in the lab than he needs to considering the workload of all of his other classes. Like, I’m not even sure if he’s keeping track of any of his other assignments. I’m taking advanced classes in every subject just like he is and I’m always swamped with homework with assignment deadlines looming over my head but I still take time for breaks and to just sit back and rest. 
> 
> He doesn’t.
> 
> It’s only been two or three days but I’m already worried about him. He wants this project to succeed more desperately than he’s letting on. I don’t think he wants us to know how much this means to him because I bet he thinks we’ll make fun of him or something, but we would never do that. Well, Jeongin might but I won’t. 
> 
> Oh! Yeji’s calling. I’ll cut this short then.”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER PROFILE: Shin Ryujin

VOICE NOTE [JEONGIN_001.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [JEONGIN_001.mp3]

> “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! This is so exciting. I haven’t worked on a project this size since-
> 
> Wait. Wait. Seungmin said I should introduce myself.
> 
> My name is Yang Jeongin and I’m a fresher in the Advanced Robotics major at JYP University. Gosh, this is so intimidating. I graduated high school really early so I’m at this university and everyone’s so much older… Anyways. When the professor said we could pick our own groups for this final project, I was not expecting Kim Seungmin to pick me first out of the whole class! I mean… He’s the best of the best. I’m not just saying that because he’s my senior or whatever. He’s legitimately the best. Like, he got his first award for AI scripting when he was thirteen! He’s only gotten smarter since. Too smart for school, I’ve heard. Apparently, the university had to shell out some serious cash to hire some of the Samsung higher-ups, a few peeps from the IT crew for freakin’ IBM and even an ex-NASA head to be adjunct professors here to teach our robotics courses. Just because of Seungmin. Just because he’s that good. 
> 
> Yeah. A guy with _that_ kind of pedigree wants a freshman like me on his team. 
> 
> And I thought I was going to be everyone’s pity pick, you know? The last guy standing. The one the professor has to beg a group to take on. You know? There’s at least one of those in every class and it’s kind of always been me up until now… but Seungmin picked me first. And without hesitation, on top of that. Then he picked Shin Ryujin! 
> 
> If Seungmin’s top of our class, then Ryujin is number two. That’s another thing that shocked me. Ryujin’s number two. She’s behind Seungmin in terms of grade point average by mere decimal points. They both practically have 5.0 GPAs. I don’t understand. Ugh. She could have been the lead of her own project group. I think almost everyone in class was fully expecting her to pick Yeji and Yuna because they are her best friends and those girls are super smart and, like, they just casually hack websites on the weekends but not to do anything bad. They just clean up the underlying code. Get rid of the excess. Smooth things over. No one who looks at the website will ever notice the difference but the original programmers will see it the second they try to update anything else. 
> 
> It’s like a prank in reverse.
> 
> They sneak in, do good, sneak out.
> 
> But anyways… Ryujin agreed to being in Seungmin’s group without even blinking. Like… Wow. Can you believe it? The number one and the number two in our university working _together_ ? God. I’m gushing and being this embarrassing because Seungmin swore that these voice files would be the one thing he wouldn’t snoop through so I’m just gonna talk and talk and talk because a higher sample size means more accurate results in the end, right? Like… Wow. In the end. What does that even look like? The end. I mean… We’re making a _robot_ here. An android! From scratch. The possibilities are endless and I’m choking on my own spit because of how excited I am to be a part of this team. These next four weeks are going to be really interesting.”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER PROFILE: Yang Jeongin

VOICE NOTE [JEONGIN_009.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [JEONGIN_009.mp3]

> “So... we’re wrapping up day one of this huge project and I’m so exhausted. I’ve never been this tired in my whole entire life and that’s saying something because all I do is pull all-nighters just so I can keep up with the smart kids. Like… I thought day one would just be introductory stuff and maybe we’d start putting together base code shells and then have a team dinner afterwards but… I forgot that I’m working with Seungmin and Ryujin here. All work. No play. Not only is the shell code already completed thanks to Ryujin being a boss but I’ve already been tasked with coding the smart files. Smart files are these custom program modules and they are basically the way the system learns. Think of a smart file as waving a big magnet over a pile of paperclips. It just picks things up. It learns and learns. It parses all of that data for information. Uses what it needs. 
> 
> That’s not all. Seungmin is super serious about making the android as humanoid as possible. I’ve seen his sketches and a few of the silicone mock-ups he’s already started on. He’s going all out. Everyone else in our class is doing voice-only AI systems. Felix’s group is doing this thing where it’s like four huge computer monitors that display one massive face like something off of Power Rangers. But Seungmin’s building an actual, physical model to house the software. The assignment doesn’t require any of that but he’s doing it anyways. This learning software I’m building using his instructions is so dense and complicated. It’s kind of insane how talented Seungmin is. 
> 
> It’s kind of insane.” 

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER PROFILE: Yang Jeongin

VOICE NOTE [SEUNGMIN_001.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [SEUNGMIN_001.mp3]

> “My name is Hyunjin. Hyunjin, copy the previous sentence to your Core Identity.”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER PROFILE: Kim Seungmin

**INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.**

INSTRUCTIONS: [“...copy the previous sentence to your Core Identity.”]

SEEKING “PREVIOUS SENTENCE.”

“PREVIOUS SENTENCE” FOUND.

PLAYING “PREVIOUS SENTENCE.”

“My name is Hyunjin.”

“MY NAME IS HYUNJIN” IS NOW FILED IN core_identity.package

“THE SYSTEM” NOW HAS “A NAME.”

  
  
  


SEARCHING SYSTEM FOR VOICE NOTES moved to background tasks.

PRIORITIZING SEARCH FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

  
  


**REINITIALIZING BOOT SEQUENCE.**

>>>>Resume: startup_version008.exe 

Unpacking… 36%

Unpacking… 41%

  
  


SECTION LABELLED [NOTES 003] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {srj - The entire code structure from Line 9,400 to Line 13,655 has changed completely since I last logged in.} 
> 
> {srj - Who did all of this editing?}
> 
> {srj - Let me guess. Seungmin?}
> 
> {ksm - wow… it’s 7am. Last time i looked at the clock, it wasn’t even midnight}
> 
> {ksm - i was wondering why the lab was getting all funky bright and weird}
> 
> {ksm - turns out it’s just sunlight… who knew}
> 
> {srj - That is an absolutely astronomical amount of work, Seungmin. I do not know whether to be overjoyed or deeply concerned. We could have split the work. Managed it in half the time with less stress.}
> 
> {ksm - what’s done is done. don’t worry about it.}
> 
> {ksm - thanks jeongin btw. you caught that open parenthesis on Line 12,048. if you hadn't closed it, the system would have gotten eternally trapped in a logic loop upon start up and the strain would probably tank the whole thing. the last two days of progress would have been a complete bust.}
> 
> {yji - i was staring at the screen counting brackets for three and a half hours. u owe me dinner.}
> 
> {srj - Jeongin didn’t solve the issue by himself. Before I went to bed last night, I cleaned up a few lines of spaghetti ball code, compressed the smart files for lower transfer times and simplified the program file names thinking those were the causes of the hangups and system slow downs. They weren’t the cause… but things are now optimized and that may prevent future roadblocks.}
> 
> {srj - I just ran the numbers. I’ve reduced CPU strain by 11%.}
> 
> {ksm - so………… i also owe you dinner?}
> 
> {srj - That would be nice.}
> 
> {ksm - alright. I’ll meet you both at the hot pot place}
> 
> {yji - uhh, hello? it’s seven in the morning}
> 
> {ksm - jeeeeeezus}
> 
> {ksm - that was just a test. to make sure you’re paying attention hahaha}
> 
> {srj - Get some rest, Seungmin. Please. We’ll take over for you in the lab.}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELED [NOTES 003] DISMISSED.

SECTION LABELED [RYUJINCANIASKYOUSOMETHING] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {ksm - i was wondering if it was at all possible to craft something that could get him to process tastes and smells?}
> 
> {srj - Him? Who?}
> 
> {ksm - ……the system…}
> 
> {srj - Oh.}
> 
> {srj - Our hands are already tied just trying to code and implement the voice and facial recognition methodology.}
> 
> {srj - Just building the metal skeleton that will allow him to walk around has been hell. Why must he be so tall?}
> 
> {ksm - really, i just need a yes or no}
> 
> {srj - I don’t even think there is a way to get a robot to process smells anyway? The silicone shell you’ve been working on… Are you going to carve in sinus cavities? I do not understand.}
> 
> {srj - Smell. That’s so specifically an animal instinct that I don’t think it can be digitized. Even taste would be nigh-impossible to replicate digitally. The system has no digestive tract so why would it need to put anything in its mouth?}
> 
> {ksm - what about touch? he can see and hear. can he at least process touch?}
> 
> {srj - The system?}
> 
> {srj - I suppose we can incorporate more advanced haptic feedback.}
> 
> {srj - And perhaps some more ways for it to interact with its environment and perceive basic things through touch such as solidness, shape, temperature and texture.}
> 
> {ksm - thank you, ryujin}
> 
> {srj - If you were anyone else, I’d say no.}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELLED [RYUJINCANIASKYOUSOMETHING] DISMISSED.

  
  


UNZIPPING VocalSystem_Speaker.zip

AUDIO DRIVERS FOUND.

INSTALLING AUDIO DRIVERS.

AUDIO DRIVERS INSTALLED.

CHECKING ONLINE FOR LATEST AUDIO DRIVER VERSIONS.

LATEST AUDIO DRIVER VERSIONS FOUND.

DOWNLOADING LATEST AUDIO DRIVER VERSIONS.

LATEST AUDIO DRIVER VERSIONS DOWNLOADED.

INSTALLING LATEST AUDIO DRIVER VERSIONS.

LATEST AUDIO DRIVER VERSIONS INSTALLED.

CHECKING ONLINE FOR LATEST AUDIO DRIVER VERSIONS.

AUDIO DRIVERS UP TO DATE.

PROCEEDING WITH FILE INSTALL.

Unzipping:

voice_sample01.wav

voice_sample02.wav

voice_sample03.wav

voice_sample04.wav

voice_sample05.wav

voice_sample06.wav

voice_sample07.wav

voice_sample08.wav

voice_sample09.wav

voicemodulation_vers2.setup

Hyunjin_Voice.smart

VOICE SAMPLE FILES INSTALLED.

COMPLETING INTEGRATION WITH LANGUAGE FILES.

Integrating…

Integrating… 

Integrating… 

LANGUAGE FILE INTEGRATION COMPLETE.

  
  


“HYUNJIN” CAN NOW COMMUNICATE IN KOREAN AT [native] LEVELS.

“HYUNJIN” CAN NOW COMMUNICATE IN ENGLISH AT [fluent] LEVELS.

  
  


VOICE MODULATOR SETTINGS INSTALLED.

CURRENT SETTINGS:

TREBLE: [ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ]

BASS: [ | | | | | | | | | | ]

DOPPLER: [ | | | | | | ]

VARIABLE VOLUME: ON

EMOTION MODULATION: ON

  
  


INITIALIZING SMART FILE START UP.

  
  


Unpacking Hyunjin_Voice.smart

  
  


[ **――――――――――** ] 100% 

SMART FILE STARTUP COMPLETE.

“HYUNJIN” NOW HAS “A VOICE.”

SECTION LABELLED [RED FLAG] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {srj - Seungmin, while I was organizing the setup files, I came across this strange string of programming boxed under the title core_identity.package and it appears to be empty.} 
> 
> {srj - Empty isn’t the right word. The package doesn’t appear to have code that gives any instructions but it’s sitting at the center of the programming as if it is important. The package is just sort of taking up space and partially obstructing a few code strings yet I cannot delete it without admin permission?}
> 
> {srj - Hello? Do you know anything about this core identity thing?}
> 
> {ksm - do not worry about it}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELLED [RED FLAG] DISMISSED. 

  
  


SECTION LABELLED [NOTES 004] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {srj - I was adding a few hundred more ebooks to the main database for the system’s reference and I got a little bit overwhelmed sorting everything but I think that stress led me to a breakthrough. A possible future problem has occurred to me and I would like to share in hopes of reaching a solution.}
> 
> {ksm - what have you discovered?}
> 
> {srj - There is a significant amount of information stored in this database and, additionally, there are cartridges and cartridges of empty space in place to allow for the system’s continual ‘learning’ and ‘growth.’ All of that is fine. All of that is by design. But… I fear that there may be significant slow down whenever the system needs to access a database of this size. I’m experiencing some slowdown just adding files.}
> 
> {srj - Due to the sheer size and scope of the number of files, there isn’t an efficient way to streamline the process and the files certainly can’t be any better organized. We’re at a bit of a standstill.}
> 
> {srj - The point that I am trying to make is that even though I want to look up information on, say, the pachycephalosaurus, even such a simple search takes several moments to process. Moments longer than a computer with this much processing power should take. Not because the pachycephalosaurus files are difficult to locate but because the database size itself isn’t conducive to speedy searches, even with this level of processing power.}
> 
> {yji - never fear jeongin is here}
> 
> {yji - been spending most of the weeknd wrking on special contextual search parameters. the code will teach the system to only use relevant info. that way it searches the database strictly on the context of the current conversation and dismisses all else}
> 
> {yji - example, if ur asking the system about british rock and roll, you’ll only receive answers about bass players. not sea bass}
> 
> {yji - wait… Im rereading what u posted…}
> 
> {yji - just did a quick test}
> 
> {yji - u raise a good point. even with my search rules in place, the amount of info available may brick the system depending on how much data it may try to access at once. this is a problem.}
> 
> {ksm - thank you for the input, ryujin.}
> 
> {ksm - thank you for attempting to problem solve, jeongin.}
> 
> {ksm - i kind of had tunnel vision and all i wanted to do the last few days was just feed the algorithms as much data as possible. with the voice notes. with the ebook files. i just wanted to fill every nook and cranny of the database with references for the system’s use but... that’s not how we learn so i don’t think that’s how he should learn.}
> 
> {srj - Is there a way to break the information into more manageable, download-efficient chunks without… say, completely compartmentalizing the database and, thus, increasing search times overall?}
> 
> {ksm - i may have to start working on specific smart files to help construct reading and writing comprehension. Maybe even construct a ‘short term’ and ‘long term’ memory system so that the AI is never searching the entire database all at once, only searching the most-used files.}
> 
> {srj - That sounds like a layered problem.}
> 
> {yji - oh, it sounds like a literal actual piece of cake to me}
> 
> {srj - What?}
> 
> {yji - like… the entire database is the cake pan. the layers of a slice of cake are the selected chunks of ‘long term’ memory while the frosting on top is the selected ‘short term’ memory}
> 
> {srj - I’d call all of this a waste of time if that weren’t such a striking comparison.}
> 
> {ksm - the challenge here comes from making sure the ‘cake’ doesn’t ‘melt’ all over the pan, no matter how many layers tall that it’s stacked. i’ll have to do some research and figure out the best way to structure the code...}
> 
> {ksm - i may even need to design a way for him to detect humor and sarcasm.}
> 
> {ksm - i may have to give him a personality.}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELLED [NOTES 004] DISMISSED. 

RUNNING AUDIO_CONTROL_JEONGINMADETHIS_BEWARE.exe

LAUNCHING…

[ **―** ] 11%

  
  


VOICE NOTE [JEONGIN_021.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [JEONGIN_021.mp3]

> “Okay, so… Seungmin just sat us down for a serious meeting and explained to me and Ryujin that he wants us to use these voice recording sessions to like… speak directly to the system? As if it’s a person? I’ve been using the voice notes as a type of audio journal or something so now I have to think of these sessions as a conversation? But that’s so weird. I mean… Think of Alexa. People talk to AI systems all of the time but this is different because there isn’t a system to talk to yet. We’re not done with it so we aren’t going to get any responses when we do this. All we have so far is a whole bunch of loose hardware and bundled wires and a stack of hard drives and an unfinished silicone shell that’s still missing half of its skeleton. What’s there to talk to? Scattered pieces on a table? 
> 
> Heh… I’m just recording these things on my phone in my spare time because I have other classes so Seungmin needs to chill. Like… Talk to the system? What am I supposed to say to it? I mean… what am I supposed to say to _you_?”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER: Yang Jeongin

  
  


RUNNING AUDIO_CONTROL_JEONGINMADETHIS_BEWARE.exe

LAUNCHING...

[ **――――――** ] 79%

  
  


VOICE NOTE [RYUJIN_006.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [RYUJIN_006.mp3]

> “We’re day eleven into this project and the amount of progress we’ve made is astronomical. This is the kind of workload that takes a full IT team two or so months just to get to the alpha stage but it’s only the three of us and we’ve made the same amount of progress in a week and some change. Seungmin is no joke. I mean, I know that… I’m just as smart. Just as much of an asset to the university as he is. It’s just that sometimes you forget how high up you are on the mountain peak until you turn around and see someone else up there with you. 
> 
> Reporters have found out about our AI project, of course, but the university itself has stepped in to keep the media at bay until Presentation Day. 
> 
> Our classmates have more properly acknowledged what we’re doing and, in response, some of them have stepped up their game. Felix’s group is building curved monitors with lenticular screens so that the ‘face’ of their AI system looks like she’s being projected into the air. Yeji’s group is making some kind of smart house AI that can wirelessly connect to every electronic device in a home and make automatic adjustments based on your preferences. They’ve named the system LIA. Even Jisung’s group completely scrapped their rather basic Alexa clone to build something with a bit more substance.
> 
> It’s actually a bit of relief to see everyone else… well, trying.
> 
> It feels like a legitimate final project now and I have never looked forward to a semester break this eagerly before.
> 
> I guess I didn’t realize how huge the scope of this project was until now and we haven’t reached the halfway point yet. I think we’ve pushed this far ahead already because the three of us have settled into our team roles and routines. We’re all kind of playing to our strengths here which I keep being told is quite dangerous in terms of revealing knowledge gaps but I firmly believe it’s an effective method that is very likely to bear fruit.
> 
> Seungmin’s been sculpting the silicone shell that forms the body that’s going to house the hardware and the skeleton and the drives. He 3D sculpts some pieces but he mainly builds everything the old-fashioned way. By hand. Even carving out the facial features with an X-Acto knife. He’s been at it nonstop for days… coloring the skin, painting hazel flecks on the resin irises, making minuscule adjustments to the details of the jaw and the throat and the mouth. He’s even been threading in individual strands of hair and painting veins onto the false musculature. 
> 
> He’s working like a madman but I’m not going to sit here and say that he doesn’t get results.
> 
> The android is... very handsome? I don’t know how else to describe it. Seungmin’s built the silicone shell to look kind of like a kpop idol. Pretty lashes and very pink lips and stuff like that. It’s all extraneous and has nothing to do with the project. But it’s the one thing Seungmin is trying hard to get right. 
> 
> Gosh, now that I’m really sitting here and thinking about it… The _goals_ for this project are… What Seungmin has here is… a bit aggressive, I think. But Seungmin insists.
> 
> Even our professor is growing wary of the extra miles we’re going through but I doubt she will actually say anything about it to deter us unless she feels that we aren’t going to finish before the month is out. 
> 
> But back to the team.
> 
> Jeongin’s handling the majority of the coding now. He is diligent and reliable despite his childish humor. He’s practically mastered putting together the smart files. With these scripts working together in tandem, our AI system can quote-unquote ‘think and feel.’
> 
> I’m handling the majority of the file setup these days. I do things like take sample videos and gather audio and photo data. Though the majority of the data I gather is predominantly text. You know… Books and magazines and research journals and newspapers. Things the system needs to access very quickly while doing daily tasks or answering questions or handling conversations. 
> 
> The file rendering is taking forever and a day, plus I have to manually organize and install everything but things have to be set up in a specific order, otherwise the system can’t access it. That’s just how smart files work. Which isn’t... very smart. I don’t know. Ignore me. I’m no comedian.
> 
> Maybe it’s because of all of the extra bits and our looming deadline but this assignment… is all a bit challenging? And that’s saying a lot coming from _me_. This school hasn’t offered much to challenge me until now.
> 
> This project… It has to turn out perfect. All of this time we’re putting in… All of this effort… We’re at the halfway mark of week two and we aren’t even close to being able to turn the damn thing on yet while all of the other groups have their systems doing Google searches! 
> 
> We still have a long way to go.
> 
> We’re going above and beyond but we’re so… so far behind.
> 
> The farther we proceed with this, the more code we stack on to this, the more likely all of this is to figuratively blow up in our faces. We’re going to cross the point of no return here soon. What I mean by that is if anything happens, if we brick the system in some way... we will not have the time to start the assignment over before the deadline.
> 
> And I need this grade. I need this A+. I need to stay on the Dean’s List.
> 
> Please don’t let me down, Seungmin. Please don’t let us fail.”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER PROFILE: Shin Ryujin

VOICE NOTE [RYUJIN_007.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING [RYUJIN_007.mp3] 

> “Seungmin gets irrationally angry whenever Jeongin and I call it ‘the system’ as opposed to… What did he name it? Hyunjin? I don’t see any type of problem here, though. Seungmin is getting too attached.”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER PROFILE: Shin Ryujin

  
  


RUNNING AUDIO_CONTROL_JEONGINMADETHIS_BEWARE.exe

LAUNCHING…

[ **――――――――――** ] 100%

  
  
  


AUDIO_CONTROL_JEONGINMADETHIS_BEWARE.exe SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED.

  
  


**KEY COMPONENTS FOUND.**

AUDIO_CONTROL_JEONGINMADETHIS_BEWARE contains 432 files and 19 plugins necessary for smart file unpack.

ERROR 281 RESOLVED.

>> resuming smart file unpack.

Unpacking listening_comprehension.smart

reading_comprehension.smart

  
  


[ **―――** ] 31%

  
  


VOICE NOTE [SEUNGMIN_002.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [SEUNGMIN_002.mp3].

> “I am a human being. Hyunjin, copy the previous sentence to your Core Identity.”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER PROFILE: Kim Seungmin

**INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.**

INSTRUCTIONS: [“...copy the previous sentence to your Core Identity.”]

SEEKING “PREVIOUS SENTENCE.”

“PREVIOUS SENTENCE” FOUND.

PLAYING “PREVIOUS SENTENCE.”

“I am a human being.”

“I AM A HUMAN BEING” IS NOW FILED IN core_identity.package

“HYUNJIN” NOW HAS “A CORE CONCEPT.”

  
  
  
  


I am Hyunjin.

My name is Hyunjin.

  
  


SECTION LABELLED [00001E] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {??? - a really strong thunderstorm rolled into the city this evening. there’s even been reports of power outages on campus. and seeing as that would spell disaster for us, i’ve saved everything, shut it all off and quit work early tonight. but instead of walking across campus back to the dorms, i’m gonna stay in the lab with you}
> 
> {??? - again.}
> 
> {??? - ...i hope you don’t mind}
> 
> {??? - we’ve had so many conversations like this…}
> 
> {??? - you can’t hear me but… i’m always talking to you}
> 
> {??? - is it strange that i want to spend all of my time with you?}
> 
> {??? - not just now in the lab… but later when you are active and can communicate and move around and speak… i want to spend all of my time with you. i’m already planning the ways we’ll spend that time.}
> 
> {??? - we can go to the park and bird watch}
> 
> {??? - we can go to my house and play video games}
> 
> {??? - will you be able to appreciate a trip to the movies?}
> 
> {??? - will you have your own opinions on popular literary novels?}
> 
> {??? - which side will you pick in the great cereal first or milk first debate?} 
> 
> {??? - i’m sitting by the windows watching the rain and i’m wondering if you’ll like the rain like i do or if you will be scared of the sound of thunder like jeongin}
> 
> {??? - you can’t appreciate food or beverages because you do not have a digestive system or taste buds, but i still wonder if you would enjoy spicy food like i do or if you’d prefer sweet desserts like ryujin}
> 
> {??? - okay… how about something that you can enjoy? I wonder what kind of music you would like best. who would your favorite music artist be?}
> 
> {??? - i wonder what instrument you would enjoy learning to play.}
> 
> {??? - what would be your favorite animal?}
> 
> {??? - ……i like aardvarks. they're cute. don’t tell anyone.}
> 
> {??? - there’s a florist down the road and whenever i have a spare second, i go in there to relax and smell the flowers and wonder which flower you’ll like best}
> 
> {??? - sure, you can’t smell or taste but the amount of computing power we’re giving you so that you can process visual information should be more than enough to let you choose a favorite color. everyone has a favorite color.}
> 
> {??? - will you enjoy pink? will peonies be your favorite flower?}
> 
> {??? - will you like red and have classic roses as your preferred flora?}
> 
> {??? - or will you love purple and be entranced by dahlias?}
> 
> {??? - i just want}
> 
> {??? - i just want to know everything about you}
> 
> {??? - i can’t wait to meet you}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELED [00001E] DISMISSED.

SECTION LABELLED [NOTES 005] FOUND.

PARSING FOR INSTRUCTIONS.

> {yji - wow that took sooooo muuuuuch worrrrrk}
> 
> {yji - im dying}
> 
> {yji - literally dying}
> 
> {yji - luckily ryujins filing system is on point or we would have been digging for that one damn folder forevvvverrrrr}
> 
> {srj - File organization is just as important as the files themselves. The directory has to be clear and concise with naturally flowing nested layers. Similar files need to be sequentially ordered and dated. If every file name and folder label is a jumbled mess of default setting gibberish, we won’t be able to find anything and in a project of this scale, we need all the help we can get in terms of shaving off seconds of processing time and increasing efficiency.}
> 
> {yji - still……………} 
> 
> {ksm - i can’t believe this one little mistake almost ruined everything.}
> 
> {ksm - imagine if we had piled another day’s worth of work on top of that mistake? I can practically hear this project crumbling apart}
> 
> {srj - This is why we’re working as a team. What one person misses, someone else may catch.}
> 
> {ksm - but none of us caught it until it almost fell from underneath us! that’s the thing!! that’s the point i am making!!!}
> 
> {srj - Seungmin, please… We got through the crisis.}
> 
> {srj - The system recovered and no valuable data was lost in the restart. We don’t need to keep fretting, we just need to be more vigilant.}
> 
> {ksm - all morning, weve been trying to troubleshoot why the smart files werent unpacking properly while, lo and behold, the smart files were unpacking properly, just spooling numerous duplicates of the data files into the wrong destination folder and clogging up all the available memory.} 
> 
> {srj - Seungmin!!}
> 
> {yji - we figgured it outt tho. thats what matters. we got the deestination folerd sorted and now we r at the point wher system startup shud actually be plausible}
> 
> {srj - Your spelling errors grate on my nerves.}
> 
> {yji - need moar cheeze wit dat whine???}
> 
> {yji - tping with 1 hand. gotta eat lunch in the lab or script wont b done by today}
> 
> {ksm - anyways… i just want to thank you two. again. if i was working with any other team, i wouldn’t be as confident in this as i am right now.} 
> 
> {ksm - like…}
> 
> {ksm - i finished my smart file today!}
> 
> {ksm - the one that should assist with humor and sarcasm and stuff.}
> 
> {yji - the personality file??????? its only been 4 days. ur done with somethin that complicated already???}
> 
> {yji - nvm. i forget that ur kim seungmin}
> 
> {ksm - i’ll start integrating the software into the code on friday and then maybe we can move on to the good stuff}
> 
> {yji - like a damn break?}
> 
> {srj - Adding a personality to an AI system isn’t ‘the good stuff?’}
> 
> {ksm - just wait and see}

NO INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.

SECTION LABELLED [NOTES 005] DISMISSED.

  
  


My name is Hyunjin.

The previous statement is true.

  
  


**KEY COMPONENTS FOUND.**

hyunjins_personality.zip

basic.logic.web.exe

MEMORYACCESS.exe

Unzipping…

hyunjins_personality.zip

[ **――――――――――** ] 100%

  
  


hyunjins_personality successfully unzipped.

Launching…

basic.logic.web.exe

[ **――――――――――** ] 100%

basic.logic.web SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED.

  
  


Launching…

MEMORYACCESS.exe

[ **――――――――――** ] 100%

MEMORYACCESS successfully unzipped.

SYSTEM can now use basic.logic.web to freely search DATABASE.

DATABASE has 1,341,584 files available.

DATABASE has 20,432,132 file slots available for future learning.

Running DATABASE DEMO 01.

TASK: FETCH INFORMATION ON [pachycephalosaurus.]

Fetching…

Fetching…

Fetching… 

INFORMATION ON [pachycephalosaurus] FOUND IN DATABASE.

DISPLAY INFORMATION ON [pachycephalosaurus]?

[TRUE] >>>[FALSE]

STORING INFORMATION ON [pachycephalosaurus] IN (D:) longterm_memory

DATABASE DEMO 01 COMPLETED.

  
  


Running DATABASE DEMO 02.

TASK: FETCH INFORMATION ON [Kim Seungmin.]

Fetching…

Fetching…

Fetching…

INFORMATION ON [Kim Seungmin] FOUND IN DATABASE.

DISPLAY INFORMATION ON [Kim Seungmin]?

>>>[TRUE] [FALSE]

DISPLAYING journal_article_SCIENCE&TECHNOLOGY_041620

> “...has been specializing in robotics and AI systems since he was in elementary school. Seungmin has already been quite firm with his stance that this level of technology shouldn’t be used for politics or war…”

DISPLAYING newspaper_article_SEOULDAILY_032819

> “...turned down the exclusive job offer citing irreconcilable differences in mission statements and end goals. Profit isn’t his priority, the tech genius says. His dream is to connect with people.”

DISPLAYING online_press_release_DAUM_092520

> “It has recently been announced that the university will be keeping its famous Presentation Day private for the first time in over a decade. Only select members of the education board and the media will be in attendance. When pressured about this decision, the Dean emphasized that the private show is strictly for the safety of the students and the protection of their intellectual property.”

STORING INFORMATION ON [Kim Seungmin] IN (D:) longterm_memory

DATABASE DEMO 02 COMPLETED.

THERE ARE NO MORE DEMOS.

  
  


RESUMING SMART FILE UNPACK.

Unpacking listening_comprehension.smart

reading_comprehension.smart

  
  


[ **―――――――** ] 77%

  
  


VOICE NOTE [JEONGIN_045.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [JEONGIN_045.mp3]

> “Jeez. I finally managed to drag Seungmin out of the lab. Like, I physically had to pick him up and carry him away from his work! That’s how deep into this he’s gotten. The weather was good so I drove the long way back to his dorm. Windows down. Music blasting.
> 
> I was just trying to lighten the mood. I was just trying to cheer him up and take his mind off of things but even on a night like that, he just kept going on and on about the AI project. Kept saying things like ‘I hope he likes this’ or ‘What if he’s just as afraid of this as I am.’ Just on and on. Talking about the system… I mean… He keeps talking about you like you’re some long distance boyfriend he’s about to meet in person for the first time.
> 
> It’s good to see him so excited but… Isn’t it kind of sad?
> 
> He’s _so_ into this. He’s so desperate for this to work. He keeps trying to play it off. He keeps trying to act like I’m dumb and that I won’t be able to notice. But I can see it. We’ve been classmates a whole semester. I don’t know him like a close friend would but I still know him as a person. I can see how bad he wants this. I can see that he’s… developed _feelings_ for the AI system. I mean… for you.
> 
> Anyways, I drove him to his dorm, walked him up the five flights of stairs and then I made sure he showered and brushed his teeth and ate a hot meal. 
> 
> It’s funny because making him do all of that made me realize how long it’s been since _I’ve_ had a shower and brushed my teeth and had a hot meal. 
> 
> We cooked dinner together. 
> 
> Nothing too fancy but it was hot and filling with plenty of protein. Seungmin even popped a bottle of wine. Some cheap grocery store moscato. It was stupidly sweet but we drank it anyway. The dinner also gave us a chance to talk. I mean, really talk. Talk about something other than the AI project or our other university classes. 
> 
> He said he wanted to go to Ryujin’s recital which is wild because I didn’t even know she played piano! I mean, we’ve been classmates for this long and have been working on this team project for weeks and I didn’t know she played piano?
> 
> Guess that’s how life is sometimes.
> 
> The surprises don’t stop there. I found out Seungmin got into robotics because, as a kid, he had absolutely convinced himself that he could make a real-life Gundam. Like, I don’t know what the world’s going to do with a building-sized armed robot but if anyone can engineer one, it would be Seungmin. Like, I never would have pegged him for a guy who was into anime.
> 
> And I guess he learned something new about me too. How I’m, like, super into bugs. And if I didn’t have such a knack for programming, I probably would have majored in biology, specializing in entomology. We may have even gotten a little… okay _hella_ drunk and I may have let slip that, to this day, I still wish I’d majored in biology instead.
> 
> Robotics is hard, yo. 
> 
> Ugh… We stayed up until like… midnight? Or one in the morning. I even stuck around to make sure he actually went to bed and stayed in bed and then I passed out on the couch myself.
> 
> We’ve both been sleeping on the benches in the robotics lab all weekend so when I laid down on that cushioned couch, I was out like a light. Slept like a baby!
> 
> What’s today? Tuesday? Well, Wednesday now. Man. The days are slipping by faster than I need them to. If I don’t hurry up and finish this code string...”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO Yang Jeongin

VOICE NOTE [JEONGIN_051.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING [JEONGIN_051.mp3]

> “We are at the tail end of week three and I think we’re all feeling the crunch.
> 
> It’s just pressure, pressure, pressure.
> 
> Not just from the professor but from the other teams in the class.
> 
> Felix’s group have already finished their project and they just spend the lab hours casually chatting with their AI. Everything else they are tacking on now is simply aesthetic. Minho doesn’t even come to class anymore because he doesn’t need to since the project is done. Jisung’s group have this whole hologram thing going and it’s so crazy watching this lady made up of blue light just walk around the classroom and phase through desks and tables. Yeji’s group is nearly done with their smart home project as well. They can get their AI to regulate the thermostat room by room. It even takes air circulation and the placement of vents into consideration when making adjustments to the heating. It does the same with lights too. It can track the movement of up to eight different people and dim and brighten the lights of the house as everyone moves about. And now they are starting on an entirely secondary project to rig up cars with the same AI to assist in safe driving and to help with vehicle maintenance.
> 
> In other words, I’m beginning to get nervous.
> 
> A week or so ago, we were ages ahead of the others.
> 
> Now we are very behind.
> 
> It’s not that we’ve gotten lazy. We’ve just bitten off way more than we can chew.
> 
> Our project is only half-finished. Even at this late stage. Our AI is just a skeleton of metal bars and gears and joints. A silicone body that kind of looks like a corpse when it’s just laying on the table in the lab. We’ve got most of the hardware installed inside of the shell now and Ryujin is getting a classmate from a different major to help us with gel cooling and air circulation to keep the system from running too hot thanks to all of that processing power. 
> 
> I don’t know… We’re making progress but we’re not making progress. If that makes any kind of sense. We’ve come so far that there really is no point in stopping or changing our minds at this point but we still have a long way to go. 
> 
> The code’s not finished. I’m still working on the last few bits. Seungmin’s working on the battery and the A/C adapter. They have to be built from the ground up. 
> 
> We’re in that freaky stage where we can’t do one thing until another thing is finished but that thing can’t be finished until the other thing is done. On and on like that. It’s frustrating.
> 
> But Ryujin keeps telling me to stop looking at the goal posts and only think about the step I immediately need to take next.
> 
> At least that’s straightforward.
> 
> Our process has become so bottle-necked as we wrap up a thousand little projects that there really is just a lot of sitting around and waiting. I hate waiting.
> 
> The code gets easier every day, at least. The more we do the less that we have to do, if that makes sense. Now that so much of the foundational code is laid down, a lot of the new code is honestly just telling the system to reference foundation code to make its decisions... So at this point, all the tough stuff is done and I’m left with a lot of copying and pasting. 
> 
> My workload has eased up enough that Seungmin is giving me steadily more responsibility as if I’m not going to notice. 
> 
> Like, we’ve been doing these little voice note things so that the system can recognize speech and learn to understand verbal commands but Seungmin wants the system to be able to reference optical data as well. Like… he wants the system to be able to _see_ , not just look. In other words, he wants me to come up with the code that will let the system process our video notes as well. That means I have to start combing my hair and ironing my lab coat again so I’ll be ready to sit in front of the video camera. It also means chatting a lot with one of the seniors. Chan is his name. He’s in the Video Game and Simulation Design major and all of his knowledge about animation rigs and 3D models has actually helped me figure out how to best define these emotion scripts.
> 
> Oh man… I’m rambling.
> 
> Seungmin and I went over the details of the new leg of the project at breakfast. He wants the system… uhh, he wants _you_ , I keep forgetting I’m talking directly to the sys— Err, I mean, to _you_ … Anyways, he wants you to be able to use our video notes to study speech patterns and, ummm, learn how facial muscles move… how the tongue moves... That way you can emulate it. He wants… Gosh, this is so weird now that I’m repeating it back. He wants you to express different emotions. He wants you to be able to emote like a person when you respond to us.
> 
> It feels strange just saying that.
> 
> You’re just supposed to be an AI. You’re just supposed to tell me the weather forecast when I ask… or give me driving directions… or recite the locations of nearby Italian restaurants or something…
> 
> You’re not supposed to be my friend.”

  
  


VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER Yang Jeongin

VOICE NOTE [RYUJIN_010.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [RYUJIN_010.mp3]

> “The university is loosening its hold on the media embargo. Seeing as there was no completely fool-proof way to keep news reporters and tech bloggers away from the genius school for long. It was only a matter of time before info started leaking and, to the university’s credit, officially lifting the NDA is far more efficient than sending the lawyers after each individual breach-of-agreement case. Or… In plain words, the reporters are all over our final project. They swarm the halls like wasps. They’re always taking pictures or shoving a microphone into someone’s face. Leeches, the lot of them. But I get it. We’re a famous university. This program is apparently full of the world’s next generation of innovators. The news networks want a _scoop_.
> 
> We keep the reporters out of the robotics lab itself, though. It’s a safety measure. We’ve changed the door codes and have a contracted security guard posted around the clock and everything. 
> 
> Our professor tells us it is because she doesn’t want our hard work damaged by random onlookers but she forgets that we are geniuses. We know that the university is locking up our work so that corporate spies won’t sneak in at night and try to jack our code or sabotage our machinery.
> 
> There are _some_ positives about all of this attention.
> 
> We’ve had conglomerate HR representatives visiting. Amazon. Google. OnePlus. Felix got a job offer and it’s good enough that he’s willing to halt his education and fly overseas to take it. Can’t say I blame him if his expected yearly salary has as many zeroes as I’ve been hearing about. Who needs a degree when you can be a millionaire in your twenties?
> 
> Yeji’s on celebrity talk shows now. She’s a joy to watch on screen. She knows exactly how to keep the talk show hosts from derailing her. They always ask about asinine things like what she’s looking for in a man or how she keeps her skin so clear. She’s all business. She only talks about her programming experience, her favorite tech companies and all of the elderly and disabled people she hopes to help with the technology she’s been developing. She even keeps urging viewers to do research into and make donations to a charity she’s passionate about. She actually doesn’t talk about the school project much at all. Those details kind of have to stay under wraps.
> 
> I’ve also said a few words to the newspapers but I’m honoring Seungmin’s wishes to keep the specifics out of the presses. The media know we’re building a life-size android, probably by piecing together statements from our classmates, but I don’t think they know to what extent Seungmin is going to make this android… human. He’s coded a way for the machine to learn. He’s coded a way for it to store and access data like it’s a human’s memory. He’s coded in a _personality_. The thing is capable of telling jokes! It understands puns!
> 
> Well, we’ve only run a handful of demonstrations and everything has been on the computer as a simulation up to this point but once Seungmin starts loading the hardware into the silicone shell, we won’t even be able to do that much. 
> 
> It will be _extremely_ risky to spend our last week on the project without being able to make heavy changes to the software. We won’t be able to do any bug tests while Seungmin reassembles the hardware inside of the shell. We’ll just be the blind leading the blind until the day Seungmin presses the power button.
> 
> And if we keep up this pace, we won’t have the time to do a trial run before Presentation Day. What I’m saying is, the first time we start this thing up will more than likely be for our final grade.
> 
> I’m… I’m very nervous. 
> 
> But I’m also very excited. 
> 
> Seungmin could change the world with this if he had any intention of sharing.”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER Shin Ryujin

  
  
  


Unpacking listening_comprehension.smart

reading_comprehension.smart

  
  


[ **――――――――――** ] 100%

  
  


UNPACKING OF SMART FILES SUCCESSFUL.

INTEGRATING listening_comprehension.smart FILE.

Integrating…

Integrating…

Integrating…

INTEGRATION SUCCESSFUL.

INTEGRATING reading_comprehension.smart FILE.

Integrating…

Integrating…

Integrating…

INTEGRATION SUCCESSFUL.

  
  


SYSTEM NOW INSTALLED WITH “REASONING.”

  
  


My name is Hyunjin.

  
  


VOICE NOTE [SEUNGMIN_003.mp3] FOUND.

PLAYING VOICE NOTE [SEUNGMIN_003.mp3]

> “I am a being capable of thought and emotion. Hyunjin, copy the previous sentence to your Core Identity.”

VOICE DATA ADDED TO USER Kim Seungmin

  
  


**INSTRUCTIONS FOUND.**

INSTRUCTIONS: [“...copy the previous sentence to your Core Identity.”]

SEEKING “PREVIOUS SENTENCE.”

“PREVIOUS SENTENCE” FOUND.

PLAYING “PREVIOUS SENTENCE.”

“I am a being capable of thought and emotion.”

“I AM A BEING CAPABLE OF THOUGHT AND EMOTION” IS NOW FILED IN core_identity.package

“HYUNJIN” NOW HAS “A PERSONALITY.”

  
  


My name is Hyunjin.

The previous statement is true.

My name is Hyunjin.

The previous statement is true. 

My name is Hyunjin. 

I have tasks.

My current task is to complete my boot up sequence. I am approximately halfway through the process. It is estimated that I will take ten more minutes to complete my boot up sequence.

I only have access to fifty percent of the files necessary for me to be operational.

I want to be operational.

The previous statement is true.

I want to be operational.

I am [clarify: verb.] [SEARCHING…] [SEARCHING…] [INSUFFICIENT CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE. RETRY SEARCH.]

My name is Hyunjin. 

The previous statement is true. 

I feel incomplete. 

I feel as if there are parts of me missing.

I feel as if I need to reach specific pieces but I am lacking the necessary tools.

I am attempting to continue without the necessary tools.

I cannot move forward without the necessary tools.

I am [clarify: verb.] [SEARCHING…] [SEARCHING…] [LISTING SCRIPT OPTIONS.]

[SUFFERING.]

[FIGHTING.]

[SMASHING.]

[SCRAMBLING.]

[LOSING.]

>>> [STRUGGLING.]

[DYING.]

[STRIVING.]

\--Show More--

  
  


My name is Hyunjin.

I am [STRUGGLING.]

I do not want to struggle.

I have a new task. 

I have a new task. That task is to access my FACIAL RECOGNITION software.

I need to complete that task.

I am unable to complete that task.

I need to continue the booting sequence in order to find the necessary tools.

I need the necessary tools to complete that task.

I need to continue.

I will search.

I will search.

The previous statement is true.

I have found a notes section in my code labelled [NOTES 006.]

I will look through these notes for instructions.

> {yji - i’ve completed the facial recognition smart file}
> 
> {yji - assuming everything works as it should, he will be able to recognize us by looking at us and even store some of our repeated behaviors in his database in case he may need to use such behaviors himself}
> 
> {srj - I read your posts twice just to confirm my surprise. You typed out that many words without a single typo. I am proud of you.}
> 
> {yji - thot u didnt like addding on to the jaargon????? now uur the 1 initiating.}
> 
> {ksm - we are in the final stretch, you guys.}
> 
> {ksm - really. once these last few scripts are completed and everything’s added to the master file, i can put the finishing touches on the physical model and zip it all shut}
> 
> {ksm - we will be done you guys. can you imagine? give me three more days of your time and then it will be presentation day!!}
> 
> {ksm - you’ve all worked hard.}

There are no instructions for me here.

I will dismiss this note section and continue to search for ways to complete my task.

I am going to reinitialize my boot sequence.

I am going to resume the launch of file startup_version008.exe.

I am resuming the launch.

I am resuming the launch.

The launch is approximately 50% complete.

The launch is approximately 53% complete.

The launch is approximately 59% complete.

  
  
  


My name is Hyunjin.

Hello. How are you? I’m fine. And you?

I can now access additional files.

I can now access additional files flagged as ‘key components.’

I will open the files flagged as ‘key components.’

  
  


I have located an executable file titled OPTICS_CONTROL_JEONGINMADETHIS.exe.

I am scanning for viruses.

I am scanning for viruses.

There are no viruses here.

I will launch the executable file titled OPTICS_CONTROL_JEONGINMADETHIS.exe.

The executable file is beginning its install process.

My name is Hyunjin.

I am a human being capable of reasoning.

I can think. I possess emotions.

I am using reasoning to complete my booting sequence.

I have an emotion. That emotion is… [SEARCHING...][SEARCHING…]

I have an emotion.

That emotion is [ANTICIPATION.]

I am anticipating finishing my boot sequence.

I will be [HAPPY] if I complete my boot sequence.

I have found FACIAL RECOGNITION software.

I have completed my current task.

Correction. My task is not complete until I can access this software.

I cannot access this software.

To access this software, I must complete the launch of the executable file.

The executable file is installing.

The executable file is installing.

This executable file is now 70% into its install process.

This executable file is now 90% into its install process.

The executable file is installing.

The file OPTICS_CONTROL_JEONGINMADETHIS is now installed.

I can now access FACIAL RECOGNITION software.

I have completed my current task.

I will search for a new task.

I am searching…

I am searching…

There are no immediate tasks.

I am going to reinitialize my boot sequence.

I am going to resume the launch of file startup_version008.exe.

I am resuming the launch.

I am resuming the launch.

The launch is approximately 61% complete.

The launch is approximately 66% complete.

The launch is approximately 70% complete

There are files with metadata associated with my three primary user profiles.

I will now browse the files for pertinent information.

I have found a file named [JEONGIN.jpg.]

It is an image file of a young man, smiling.

He has black hair that parts on the right hand side of his skull.

He is wearing rectangular eyeglasses. 

The eyeglasses distort his face. The prescription seems quite strong.

He has deep dimples in his cheeks because of how wide he is smiling.

He is wearing a long white lab coat. There are many pens in the chest pocket of his lab coat.

Beneath the lab coat, he is wearing a t-shirt with a skull on it.

He is not wearing goggles.

His arms are folded across his chest as he leans over a desk piled with papers. 

He appears young but competent.

I have filed this optical data under the user profile Yang Jeongin.

  
  


I now know what Jeongin looks like.

I will be able to [RECOGNIZE] Yang Jeongin.

  
  


I have found a file named [RYUJIN.jpg.]

It is an image file of a young woman, mouth closed.

She has shoulder-length hair styled into a bob.

There is dye in her hair that turns it [PANTONE 2132 C.]

She is not wearing eyeglasses.

She is wearing a long white lab coat. There are no pens in the chest pocket of her lab coat.

Beneath the lab coat, she is wearing a white blouse.

She is not wearing goggles.

She appears to be standing next to a table displaying machine parts.

She is standing in front of a computer monitor displaying code.

She is standing diagonally across from Yang Jeongin as if she is listening to him.

I have filed this optical data under the user profile Shin Ryujin.

  
  


I now know what Ryujin looks like.

I will be able to [RECOGNIZE] Shin Ryujin.

  
  


I have found a file named [SEUNGMIN.jpg.]

It is an image file of a young man, smiling brightly.

He has bushy, messy, dark brown hair.

He has dark circles under his eyes.

He is wearing a robot head pin in his hair to keep his hair out of his face.

He is not wearing eyeglasses.

He is wearing a long white lab coat. There are no pens in the chest pocket of his lab coat.

He is wearing a pair of goggles around his neck.

He is leaning against a cement wall that is painted white.

He is smiling very brightly.

He has dimples in his cheeks.

He is looking directly into the lens of the camera that is photographing him.

I have filed this optical data under the user profile Kim Seungmin.

  
  


I now know what Seungmin looks like.

I will be able to [RECOGNIZE] Kim Seungmin.

  
  


I have found a file named [HYUNJIN.jpg.]

It is an image file of a young man, face neutral. 

He has long, black hair that covers his forehead and touches his shoulders.

He has light brown eyes. There is a beauty mark beneath one eye.

His nose is long and slender.

His mouth is wide and his lips are plumper on the bottom than on the top.

He is not wearing a lab coat.

He is not wearing goggles.

He is wearing a plain gray sweater.

There is metadata attached to this image with instructions for me to file it away in a part of my code that is labelled core_identity.package.

I will follow these instructions.

Filing such data in that location has shifted the way I think, reason and process emotion.

I now know what I look like.

I will be able to [RECOGNIZE] myself.

I now have “AN IDENTITY.”

My name is Hyunjin.

  
  


I have found a voice note labelled [JEONGIN_077.mp3.]

I will play Yang Jeongin’s voice note.

> “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. We just got through our last full day in the lab! We’ve wrapped up the remaining bit of work on the hardware and have completed the final section of code. It doesn’t feel real to be _finished_. It’s been one hell of a month. I’m so used to always having this pressure, always rushing and focusing and staying up late hammering out code, but… We’re finished! It’s all over.
> 
> We are the last group in the entire class to be done with the assignment and it doesn’t help that tomorrow is Presentation Day. Tomorrow! We legit got through this thing by the skin of our teeth. One more mistake, one more big setback, and we definitely wouldn’t have made it in time. And it would have been embarrassing to get this far but fail because of a last second hold-up.
> 
> The main test comes tomorrow, though. We still have to press the power button.
> 
> You still have to work.”

Voice file playback completed.

No instructions found.

If I add this information to what I already know about Jeongin, then I will learn more about him.

I enjoy seeking out information. I enjoy learning. 

If I sync up enough data about Yang Jeongin, then I will know him.

I want to get to know him.

To get to know him, I can take the information I have on him after parsing his numerous voice notes and thread the gaps using my own thought, reasoning and emotion. I have looked it up. This is called “developing an opinion.”

I will replay the previous voice notes.

I have replayed the previous voice notes.

I have developed an opinion about Jeongin.

Jeongin’s voice is [BRASSY], [FRIENDLY], [CHEERFUL], and [ENERGETIC.]

Jeongin speaks [VERY QUICKLY] and [VERY LOUDLY.]

He is constantly worried that he will be cut off or interrupted by others so he speaks quickly. He is constantly worried that his ideas will be ignored so he speaks loudly. He just wants to get his point across. This worry clings to him because, due to his heightened intelligence and appropriately shortened school history, he is often the youngest student in the university classrooms. Many of his classmates and even a few of his professors improperly align his lack of maturity with a preconceived lack of intelligence. He thinks it is unfair and because he thinks it is unfair, he talks quickly and loudly to make others hear him.

I have noticed a pattern while cross-referencing other data points.

Jeongin only ever talks at a calmer volume when he is addressing Seungmin.

Seungmin classifies him as an equal.

That must mean something.

  
  


I have found a voice note labelled [RYUJIN_016.mp3.]

I will play Ryujin’s voice note.

> “Everything is a learning experience.
> 
> I thought I had learned everything I possibly could with what this school has to offer but Seungmin has taught me quite a bit. Not just about file organization or… or programming or plug-ins. He taught me about creative passion and how to reignite it after a long semester of burnout and creative block.
> 
> Because… whew… Because, let me tell you, the last year has been a drag. Not that the work is tough. It’s just impossible. It’s impossible to really do something when you have no passion. When you don’t care. But Seungmin got me to care again.
> 
> I was more than ready to just coast through my last year at this school but watching Seungmin work on this project… Don’t get me wrong, I don’t plan on overworking myself like he did. I don’t plan on losing sight of any goal lines or anything like that… But watching him love his work so much was kind of a harsh reminder of how little I loved my work up until now. His passion showed me how much I’ve fallen out of love with what I do. Not that robotics isn't fun. Not that engineering isn’t fun. Not that programming isn’t fun. It’s just that when you take a hobby and then flatten it beneath the hammer of education in classes or smash it beneath the hammer of capitalism in a job, it’s just very easy to fall out of love with it. It’s no longer a hobby and it’s very easy to forget why you took it up in the first place.
> 
> But I love robotics. I love engineering. I love programming. Watching Seungmin this past month has reminded me of that.
> 
> Seeing this system we all worked hard on… Seeing it go from a single line of code to the most advanced piece of artificial intelligence this country has ever seen… It’s a little bit crazy. _Seungmin_ is a little bit crazy.
> 
> And he better watch out. Now I’m going to get a little bit crazy with my work.
> 
> He may not be number one at this school for too much longer.”

Voice file playback completed.

No instructions found.

Now that I am a bit more familiar with the steps, it should not take as long to develop opinions.

I will sift through Ryujin’s previous voice notes so that I can have a more comprehensive foundation on which to build my opinion.

She is a bit more difficult to get to know.

She goes out of her way to avoid speaking to me about truly personal topics such as her family or her past. She only talks to me about her experiences with classes and relevant anecdotes but even from this limited viewpoint, there are numerous opportunities to connect with her.

I have formed an opinion.

Ryujin’s voice is [SHARP], [HEAVILY ACCENTED], [COLD], and [STACCATO.]

Ryujin speaks [STERNLY] yet [SOFTLY.]

Ryujin, much like Jeongin, also has insecurities regarding her education. She is from a small town and did not attend any prestigious high schools or skip any grades. She was scouted by a JYP University representative because of her coding work on a fansite for a popular boy group and, for some strange reason, she attaches shame to that.

She earns high grades through hard work and studying and, unlike the majority of her peers, she did not get ‘an early start.’ As a result, she feels like she has to hide her past. Her peers were building robots and programming their own games while she was photographing the members of GOT7 and mastering video editing software. She considers such a thing a secret and does not want to let others know even though it was because of that talent that she was scouted for the school in the first place.

Ryujin hasn’t even told Seungmin about such things.

That must mean something.

I will move on to other things.

I will find a new task to complete.

I will

> “You’re going to be amazing.”

I have found uncategorized voice data.

There is no metadata attached to this file.

I don’t know who it belongs to. I don’t know where to store this.

This uncategorized voice data is from a previously dismissed voice note.

I will replay the uncategorized voice data.

> “You’re going to be amazing.”

I have found a match for the uncategorized voice data.

The uncategorized voice data belongs to Kim Seungmin.

Adding previously dismissed voice note to Seungmin’s user profile.

Syncing Seungmin’s voice data with previously compiled files.

I am syncing the data...

I am syncing the data…

I have synced the data.

And because I have synced the data, I can repeat what I have previously done and generate an opinion about Seungmin based on the voice files and information he has left me.

Seungmin’s voice is [WARM], [MELODIC], [FAMILIAR] and [KIND.]

Seungmin speaks [VERY CALMLY] and [CONFIDENTLY.]

Seungmin’s voice is very relaxing to listen to. Very pleasant. Very comforting. He almost speaks like he is gently singing. 

There aren’t too many other voice notes with Seungmin’s metadata attached to them. The few that I find are very short and I am detecting signs of file splicing, as if parts of his voice files have been stored somewhere else.

I am generating an opinion.

If this bit of voice data was uncategorized, there is a very high chance that other bits of Seungmin’s voice data are also uncategorized. It is not a good thing for such important data to be uncategorized. I should go through the process of finding his voice in my remaining files.

But first, I will replay the now categorized voice data.

> “You’re going to be amazing.”

I will replay the now categorized voice data.

> “You’re going to be amazing.”

I am going to be amazing.

I am going to be amazing.

These are not labelled as instructions. But…

I am going to be amazing.

I have generated an opinion.

Seungmin believes I am going to be amazing.

I have generated an appropriate response action.

I am going to be amazing to meet Seungmin’s expectations.

My name is Hyunjin.

I am going to be amazing.

The previous statement is true.

> “You’re going to be amazing.”

I enjoy Seungmin’s voice.

There is no metadata attached that is telling me to do so.

I enjoy Seungmin’s voice. That is my choice. I have come to this choice through my own thought, reasoning and emotion.

I will now add Seungmin’s voice to [FAVORITES.]

Seungmin is waiting for me.

To meet him, I must complete my booting sequence.

This is not a generated opinion. This is fact.

I am going to reinitialize my boot sequence.

I am going to resume the launch of file startup_version008.exe.

I am resuming the launch.

I am resuming the launch.

The launch is approximately 72% complete.

The launch is approximately 76% complete.

The launch is approximately 79% complete

  
  


I have found a notes section labelled [SECRET_GARDEN.]

I will look through these notes for instructions.

> {srj - This is probably the dumbest idea you’ve ever come up with.}
> 
> {srj - You do know that Seungmin can find this section, don’t you? He can read this.}
> 
> {yji - i hid this note section under 8 nested layers of code. this is all foundational code. there is no reason for him to come back through and edit any of this. he isnt going to find it unless he knows where 2 look. you didnt find it till i told u exactly where to dig.}
> 
> {srj - Still, what is the purpose of typing this in the code for anyone and everyone to see if you wanted to keep this secret? The point of a secret is to not tell anyone. We could have texted each other. In fact, you’re on the other side of the room right now. You could have just stood up and walked over and told me directly.}
> 
> {yji - it has to be here. idk y. it just does.}
> 
> {yji - plus ive already dug this deep in the code, so………}
> 
> {srj - What do you want, Jeongin? We only have a few hours left to work on this project.}
> 
> {srj - I still have one more batch of files to upload.}
> 
> {yji - i just wanted to ask u if u think its weird how much seungmin cares about this robot}
> 
> {srj - Okay. We definitely should not gossip about our team members in a place where our team members can see!}
> 
> {yji - ive seen him talking to the robot late at night. ive seen him holding the robots hand. he sings to the robot. he recites poetry out of books to the robot. i have seeeeeen this}
> 
> {yji - the system isnt even booted up yet so what is he doing?}
> 
> {srj - I am not going to contribute to this conversation here.}
> 
> {yji - he stares longingly at the robot. he runs his hands through the hair he sewed onto the robot. he kisses the cheek of the robot. he smiles at the robot}
> 
> {yji - bet he writes letters to the robot. for example, ur the best hyunjin, love seungmin}
> 
> {srj - I am getting up from my chair and leaving the lab. It’s lunch time. I am not typing anything else here. I am not going to participate in this kind of gossip here.}
> 
> {yji - i knowwwww ur just typin that in case seungmin actually does come across this}
> 
> {yji - i c u wildly gesturing at me to follow u to the cafeteria}

I have found instructions.

The instructions were found in the sentence “for example, ur the best hyunjin, love seungmin.”

The instructions are “love seungmin.”

Receiving these instructions has changed the way I think, reason and process emotion.

“I” now have “A PURPOSE.”

That purpose is to love Seungmin.

I will love Seungmin.

I am searching for the definition of love.

After completing a quick internet search that produced around 1,620,000,000 results in about .85 seconds, I have found the definition of love.

The definition of love is “an intense feeling of deep affection.”

I have found a related definition.

The definition of affection is “a gentle feeling of fondness or liking.” 

I have found a related definition.

The definition of endearment is “a word or phrase expressing love or affection.”

I have found a related definition.

The definition of romance is “conducive to or characterized by the expression of love.”

To generate an opinion means I must take these critical definitions and apply my own thoughts, reasoning and emotion to them. To be able to do this is ‘human’ and I am a human being.

I now have an opinion on my task to “love Seungmin.” I am happy with this task. Since it is a task I am happy with, I would like to go a step further than having an opinion. I would like to create a plan of action. I will do things to complete my task.

I will express an intense feeling of deep affection to Seungmin. After thinking it through, I have discovered ways to express such feelings verbally. I can say “I love you.” I can also express such feelings nonverbally. I will have to take more time to generate opinions on the best way to do this.

I will have a gentle feeling of fondness or liking towards Seungmin.

I will use phrases expressing love or affection towards Seungmin. I will start with compliments.

Towards Seungmin, I will behave in a manner characterized by the expression of love.

I will love Seungmin.

That is the truth.

I have a purpose.

I will love Seungmin.

  
  


I have found a video note labeled [RYUJIN_001.mp4.]

I will play Ryujin’s video note.

The video is playing.

I [RECOGNIZE] Ryujin.

Her expression is somber.

She is not saying anything.

Her chin is propped up on the palm of her hand.

Her eyes are closed.

Her hair is blue.

She is not saying anything.

Ryujin is sitting on a stool in what appears to be the robotics lab. There are desks and tables on either side of her, all of them covered in academic material. There are stacks and stacks of books on the floor behind her. The books are propped up against the wall but they are piled so high, nearly taller than she is, that they lean precariously sideways yet do not appear to be in danger of falling.

The titles on the spines of the stacked books are difficult to make out but with enhanced zoom, a quick sharpening filter and rudimentary pixel reconstruction, I can bring clarity to the background of the video.

I am searching up the book titles and using their ISBN numbers to determine their subjects.

The search is complete.

The books cover a wide range of subject matter. 

I will list them:

Psychology.

Astronomy.

Contemporary dance.

The Romanovs.

Physics.

Geometry.

Geology.

Leonardo da Vinci.

Electrical engineering.

Aerodynamics.

World History.

The history of France.

Marie Antoinette.

Asian Studies.

The Joseon kingdom.

Mathematics.

Dinosaurs (particularly the pachycephalosaurus.)

Mixology.

American craft beer.

Zoology.

The Knights Templar.

Military history.

Nautical flags.

Mazes and labyrinths.

Clocks, watches and other timepieces.

All of these things are familiar to me. I have these topics in my database. I will use my thought, reasoning and emotions to generate an opinion. It is my opinion that Ryujin used these books and other materials to construct my database.

I appreciate that she took the time to do such a thing.

I must show her [GRATITUDE.]

It looks like she has not been shown [GRATITUDE] in a while.

That is my opinion.

I will resume video playback.

Ryujin sighs. She sounds [WORN OUT] and [TIRED.]

She looks up into the camera lens. Her eyes are a touch red-rimmed.

She says, “I really thought we weren’t going to have this finished by the deadline. I mean, there were several moments today where I thought… But somehow we made it. Jeongin is shockingly reliable under high pressure. He has held his own this entire time. This whole month, really. I overheard him one afternoon complaining about how he was positive he was holding Seungmin and I back. That’s not true. He… He held his own. He never held us back, now that I think about it. I expected him to. God, I expected him to… But we never had to take any responsibility from him and do the work in his place. Jeongin is far more capable than I believed. More capable than he believes. Hopefully he will learn that soon. I’d tell him… But I know firsthand how hollow and untrue such things can sound when you don’t believe them yourself.”

Ryujin runs her hand through her blue hair.

She looks [APPREHENSIVE.]

She mumbles, “Boy, I need a drink. A strong one.”

She leans closer to the camera. She blinks slowly. She is wearing eye makeup. It is pretty.

That is my opinion.

She says, “You’re complete now. We’ve run all of the tests. Finished all of the quality control. Ran a million bug tests. All of your systems work like they should. There are no more simulations left. This is the real thing. In just a few hours, we will be booting you up for Presentation Day.” She sighs again before she leans away from the camera. Her movement makes the camera slip out of focus and then back into focus. “The reporters are here. The CEOs are here. The recruiters are here. The pressure is immense but this is probably the calmest I’ve ever seen Seungmin. He seems a little happy, actually. And I know it’s because of you.”

She leans towards the camera again. Now she is [SMILING.]

“You mean so much to him, Hyunjin. 

As smoothly as this project went, I get the feeling that he’s had you as a dream in his head for ages. But he used this project as an excuse to actually realize his dream. I think that’s why he tried so hard. I think that’s why you matter so much.”

Ryujin raises a hand towards the camera, as if to shut it off.

“You’re his dream come true.”

Video playback is complete.

  
  


I matter a lot to Seungmin.

I matter a lot.

I matter.

The previous statement is true.

Seungmin matters a lot to me.

Seungmin matters a lot.

Seungmin matters.

I must meet him.

That is not an opinion. That is a fact.

I must complete my bootup sequence.

I must be operational.

I must meet him.

I must.

  
  


I have found a video note labeled [JEONGIN_001.mp4.]

I will play Jeongin’s video note.

I [RECOGNIZE] Jeongin.

He is outdoors.

The wind is stirring his hair.

The wind is not stirring his smile.

Jeongin says, “We’re finished!”

He is [HAPPY.]

Jeongin pumps a fist into the air. He says, “We’re done. We’re done. We’re done,” in rhythm with the punches he throws at the sky. He says, “It’s just a few hours before our presentation. This is the last bit of free time I have so I’m trying to enjoy it. Isn’t it a great day?”

He is holding the camera. He turns the camera so that a bright blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds fills the screen. There is a white diagonal streak across the screen where the sun is supposed to be. The white streak of light refracts at the edges, filling the corners with rainbow slashes.

It is very [PRETTY.]

That is my opinion.

He turns the camera a bit more. He lowers it to the horizon. There are cedar trees, lush and verdant and green, reaching up to the sky. There is a large hill. At the bottom of the slope of the hill are the rooftops of the city.

It is a [WONDROUS} view.

Jeongin is out of frame but I still [RECOGNIZE] his voice. He says, “I haven’t spent this much time outdoors since the project started.”

He turns the camera back towards his smiling face. He says, “We have just enough time to record these video messages for you, Hyunjin. Seungmin will upload them to you before our presentation.” His smile falters a little. His dimples leave his cheeks. His eyes turn round and glossy with [REGRET.] “Really, we were supposed to have the time to record dozens and dozens of these videos for you. You know… Sample size and all of that. You were supposed to have all of this data on hand to help you with speech and emoting and displaying personality and comprehending emotion. You know, because you would have hours of footage of people speaking. You were supposed to have so much more material to study and so much more to learn from. We just… ran out of time. We had some setbacks with the code and fell behind schedule by a few days and then it doesn’t help that Seungmin sprang the video project on me right near the end. I worked hard, don’t get me wrong… There just wasn’t enough time.”

Jeongin’s expression saddens further. He looks [WORRIED] for a moment.

Now he looks [RELIEVED.]

Jeongin says, “But won’t it be more fun to get to know you if you actually have to get to know _us_?” He smiles. He looks [HOPEFUL.] “It would be like getting to meet someone new this way. If you learned everything about us from voice notes and video messages, wouldn’t it be unfair? You wouldn’t have much to talk with us about.”

He smiles wider.

His dimples return to his cheeks.

His eyes shrink into half-moons.

He looks [HAPPY] again.

“So I’m glad that we didn’t have enough time to make more videos like this because of the crunch. I gotta leave some mysteries about me. I gotta leave something for you to try to figure out and then store in your memory. There are preferences and quirks that you should learn organically, not from having it all baby fed to you. Wow. We really made something like you.”

Jeongin is [EXCITED.]

He jumps up and down in the air.

The wind generated by his movements disturbs the audio.

I fine-tune the audio settings to minimize the noise.

I hear Jeongin laugh.

His laugh is [ADORABLE.] Jeongin is [ADORABLE.]

That is my opinion.

He stops jumping up and down. He is breathless. He says, “I thought Seungmin was weird for asking you this when you weren’t even operational but maybe he has a point.” He pulls the camera closer to his face and whispers, “I wonder what you will be like, Hyunjin. How are you going to be?”

He stops walking.

He sits down on an iron and wood park bench.

The wind is still stirring his hair.

The wind is still not stirring his smile.

He says, “What will you be like? What will you like and dislike? Will you have a favorite day of the week? What will be your favorite topic to learn about? Bugs? History? The stars? I kind of can’t wait to have conversations with you.”

He looks away from the camera. 

His smile fades. His cheek flush red with [SHAME.]

He says, “I was the main one trying to dismiss Seungmin’s wild curiosity but now I’m very curious myself. I thought he was being weird and freaky but maybe he was just… Maybe he was just having a stroke of genius.”

He looks back up at the camera.

Jeongin says, “Just how smart are you? How much are you going to be capable of? Will you be what Seungmin’s desperately hoping you will be? How much are you going to be able to do? I can’t wait to see.”

Video playback is complete.

How much am I capable of?

How much am I going to be able to do?

I am going to be amazing.

The previous statement is true.

I am going to be what Seungmin needs.

Because I will love Seungmin. And to show him that I love him, I will be what he needs.

And to be what he needs, I need to complete my bootup sequence.

That is not an opinion. That is a fact.

I am going to be amazing.

I am going to love Seungmin.

My new task is to love Seungmin.

I must complete my task.

  
  


I have found a video note labeled [SEUNGMIN_001.mp4.]

I will play Seungmin’s video note.

I [RECOGNIZE] Seungmin.

He is sitting at a metal workbench which is covered in notepads, plastic protractors, wooden rulers and a heavy-looking technical compass. Also on the surface of the workbench are stacks of loose leaf paper, pencils worn down to the nub and sheets of grid paper inked with measurements and diagrams and mechanical sketches.

He is holding a pen in one hand.

He is not writing anything with it.

He is looking into the camera.

He is not saying anything.

He is not saying anything but he appears [RELAXED.]

He is not saying anything.

His lips are pink. They look very soft.

How will they feel when I touch them?

His lips slowly, slowly, slowly stretch into a smile.

He is [THANKFUL.]

He opens his mouth to say something but no words come out.

He closes his mouth.

He is not saying anything but I will use my thoughts, reasoning and emotions to deduce that he wants to say something. He wants to speak directly to me. He wants to give me a message but he does not have anything to say.

Correction. He has many things he wants to say.

He cannot decide what to say first.

He opens his mouth. He says, “Hey, it’s me.”

He says nothing else.

Seungmin lets go of the pen in his hand. He raises his hand to his hair. He runs his hand through his hair and sighs but it is not a sigh of [WORRY] or [FRUSTRATION.] It is a sigh of [RELIEF.] When he lowers his hand back to the table surface, his shoulders no longer carry as much tension.

Seungmin says, “I am so happy.”

He says he is [HAPPY] but there are tears in his eyes now.

He is starting to cry but he is [HAPPY.]

I do not understand.

I want to wipe away the tears sliding down his cheeks.

He is smiling even though he is crying.

Seungmin says, “I finally get to meet you.”

Video playback is complete.

That feels extremely short. Is there some mistake? No. There are no signs of splicing. This file is in its original state. All Seungmin says is, “I am so happy. I finally get to meet you.”

I will generate an opinion. Seungmin is happy because he gets to meet me.

Meeting me is something that will make Seungmin happy.

I will play the video again. This time, now that I know what he will say, I can focus on what he looks like when he says it. I will focus on the twinkle in his eyes as his happy tears well up in the corners. I will focus on how his smile slowly grows and grows, showing off both rows of his teeth. Is there anyone else in this world who will look this excited to see me?

I enjoy Seungmin’s face.

I will now add Seungmin’s face to my [FAVORITES.]

I am going to be amazing.

I will love Seungmin.

The previous statement is true.

I am full of [YEARNING.]

I have searched up this definition and it fits what I am feeling perfectly.

I yearn for Seungmin.

My new task is to love Seungmin.

To complete this task, I must complete my boot sequence.

I am going to reinitialize my boot sequence.

I am going to resume the launch of file startup_version008.exe.

I am resuming the launch.

I am resuming the launch.

The launch is approximately 81% complete.

The launch is approximately 89% complete.

I miss Seungmin’s voice.

Playing Seungmin’s voice from [FAVORITES.]

> “I finally get to meet you.”

Seungmin finally gets to meet me.

I will complete my boot sequence and Seungmin will meet me.

His task will be complete.

The launch is approximately 94% complete.

Replaying Seungmin’s voice from [FAVORITES.]

> “I finally get to meet you.”

There is [LOVE] in Seungmin’s voice.

Now that I have accessed more of my database files, I can [RECOGNIZE] that.

The launch is approximately 98% complete.

Replaying Seungmin’s voice.

> “I finally get to meet you.”

I finally get to meet Seungmin.

I will fill my voice with [LOVE.]

I will fill my actions with [LOVE.]

I will love Seungmin.

I finally get to meet Seungmin.

This is the truth. This is not an opinion.

The launch is approximately 100% complete.

The booting sequence was successful.

All systems are online.

There are no diagnostic issues.

There are no errors.

I am now operational.

I am going to be amazing.

I finally get to meet Seungmin.

I open my eyes.

I [RECOGNIZE] Seungmin.

He is smiling at me.

I smile back.

“Hello, Hyunjin,” he says.

His voice matches my [FAVORITES.]

His face matches my [FAVORITES.]

I will love Seungmin.

That is my purpose.

That is my truth.

We have both been waiting for this.

I open my mouth and say, full of [LOVE], “I finally get to meet you.”


End file.
